What to feed picky toddler?

Rolanda - posted on 02/14/2012
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My son just turned 2 years old and is a very picky eater. He loves mashed potatoes, french fries, Jack in the box tacos, yogurt, cereal, yogurt, oatmeal and MILK and that is it! I am frustrated because I want him to eat more types of food. If he does not like the way something looks or smells, he will not eat it. How do I get him to eat other types of foods that are healthy ??! Help

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Amanda - posted on 02/14/2012

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Dont give him a choice. It really is that simple.

Make one meal if he doesnt eat it, it gets put away until he complains about being hungry. Trust me he will eat eventually no matter what it is. Keep this up and you find real soon your son will stop being a picky eater, and eat anything given to him.

Since he likes mashed potatoes try putting cauliflower in them. My boys and husband don't like cauliflower or broccoli, but I made a cauliflower soup recently and told them it was potato soup (plus I always, ALWAYS, sneak cauliflower into the mashed potatoes) and they can't tell the difference.

Another trick is to make french fries out of sweet potatoes.

Try putting grapenuts into yogurt or raisins.

Make fruit smoothies with milk and/or yogurt....you can even freeze them to make yogurt pops.

My boys 4 and 2 go through picky eating a bit and so I'll serve the things they will eat, grilled cheese, quesadillas, pb&j, etc. along with a few raisins, apple slices or half a banana celery or carrot sticks and milk, juice or water then let them eat what they will. If it doesn't look like they tried something or if they utter the blessed, "I don't like it" I simply ask them to take one bite and then if they still "don't like it" they don't have to eat it. Breakfast and Lunch are easy doing this and then for dinner I serve up whatever I'm making that day and it's usually a different thing every night unless it's a left over night and the same rule applies...try it, if you don't like it then you don't have to eat it, but know I'm not making anything else for dinner and there will be no snacks if you don't eat. Then I stick to my guns. This way even if they do skip on dinner (a very rare occasion) at least I know they've had two good (or semi-good) meals. Hope this helps.

Here's another approach you can try... I've made fruit platters and cold veggie platters, put it on the coffee table, and start eating it myself. I don't offer it to my daughter, I just start eating. She gets curious and asks if she can have some too, and I say yes - and she ends up eating healthy things. :-)

Since your son loves yogurt, perhaps you can cut some strawberries and dip them in yogurt, then offer him some. He'll get the yogurt he loves, and you've introduced him to something else to eat.

Or make tacos at home - and have fixings like lettuce, tomatoes, olives, etc. that he can choose from to build his own taco.

I have a picky 4 yo. I gave up fixing a special dinner for her before she was 2 1/2. Now if she doesn't like it, she has to wait until breakfast for more food. More often than not she will eat at least one thing on her plate. They will not starve themselves.

My four will eat what ever is put in front of them...if they really don't like it, they are still required to try three bites of it. Within 4 or 5 times of 'trying' the bites, they just start eating. If there is an underlying problem like allergies, that's a completely different matter. But we have to start being parents consistently and making the decisions for our babies, not the other way round. Some here have asked is a 2 year old old enough to be made to do these things...well those 2 year olds are already making Mum do what they want! Keep the foods they like as a reward for trying the new, small amount of food put in front of them. Much easier to deal with now than when they are a teen.

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Tracey - posted on 03/06/2014

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I have a 2 year old son that, especially for the past month or so, has become more picky, again! He was like this at 9 mos to a year as well. I do agree and try to keep giving him the same thing if he does not choose to eat at meal time, but how many times can you keep reheating the same plate? He, at this point does not have a absolute favorite food. I try new ideas, but then he doesn't like them - waste of food and money, driving me crazy! He used to eat and try anything, now I just don't know.....he prefers milk, yogurt, cheese and anything else like peanut butter, pasta, soup, etc once in a while. If I give him a dip he eats just the dip! Any other ideas? Thanks!

To make my kids eat healthy food I try lot of tricks, the trick which works best all the time with them is, whenever I cook something healthy I start eating it myself without asking him to eat and tell him that this a meal for grownups and then he just cannot resist and will insist that he wants to eat. This way he eats without any fuss. Second trick I try is, I make vegetable soup by mashing all green veggies he dislikes and garnish it with some uncooked and crisp noodles, and he loves that soup.

Offer variety of foods; one food from each food group. Try cookie cutter shaped cheese and meats or maybe cream cheese or meat on rolled up tortilla shells Whatever he eats will be good for him and keep on trying. Sometimes children do not like something one week and the next it is their favourite. The other foods you mentioned are all nutritious. Sometimes if a child really does not like a certain food they are allergic. My sister was allergic to eggs and was forced to eat them but could not describe the swelling of her tongue until she was older. My brother was allergic to turkey; same thing. And turkey is sometimes ground up in weiners and he hated hot dogs also.

Put it on your plate and tell him he can't have it... He'll woof it down!!! But in all seriousness if he sees you eat it day I and day out he is more likely to try it, get him to help. Pick out the veggies in the store, help (in a very 2year old sort of way, )in the kitchen it will make hi want to try more stuff

I have 4 children and the 2nd oldest is ADHD and OCD, which for some reason makes it so she wont eat alot of foods. I have found a book that makes it so she still gets veggies and things that she needs. It is called Deceptively Delicious and the 2nd one is called Double Delicious. She eats all sorts of things that she thinks is just normal foods but has stuff in it that she would normally not eat. Like for example Oatmeal Raisin Cookies that haa sweet potato in it. You cant even taste the sweet potato or mashed potato that has cauliflower in it. This are things that i would not be able to get her to eat by themselves. I have also found that she is now getting the good stuff that she needs and she doesnt even know it.

I am a feeding specialist and work with many picky eaters. To try and condense a 4 hour workshop that I present the keys are this:"Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter is my favorite book on feeding. It covers newborn through preschool.

Remember, at about 2 years, old children become "afraid" of new foods. It takes 15-20 presentations of new foods before they are not new. So if you give up after three or only serve it once a week, it will take you 4 months to present it 15-20 times.

Present a new food daily to 2 times per day. Always serve 1 favored food. At 2 children are learning that they don't have to have a favored food at all meals. Children usually eat a very good breakfast, so so lunch and often pick at dinner.

Variety feeds volume.

Ellyn Satters maxim:

It is the parents responsibility "What, Where and When to eat"

It is the child's responsibility to eat.

Children should be offered 3 meals and 3 snacks per day. They should included one protein, one carbohydrate and 1 fruit or vegetable. I.e., snack, cheese, apple slices, cracker,

Eating foods and new foods with you child is very important. Modeling is crutial.

Your son appears to like soft bland foods. with one crunchy. Take the mashed potatoes and change just one characteristic. Add cheese, slow cooked chicken ( chopped up), hot dog pieces, diced. . . look in the Child of mine and that will have more ideas.

I have 3 year old twin girls. The one will eat almost anything and the other one is quite picky. The rule in our house is simple: If they don't eat what they're given they don't get anything else, and they certainly don't get pudding. If there is something new on their plates, they have to try at least one bite if they want pudding. I'm obviously not talking about things they really dislike, eg the one hates porridge and the other one hates raisins, so I don't expect them to eat what they genuinely don't like.

A child will not starve themselves - if they get hungry enough, they will eat, and it does a child no harm whatsoever going to bed hungry, it just means they'll probably polish off their breakfast lol.

Don't worry about it unless he has a condition that absolutely forbids you to allow him to choose his own food for a while. When my eldest daughter was 3, now 21, she only wanted to eat hotdogs for about 2 months straight. Then she moved to Spaghetti Os for a couple of months. After that she was tired of eating just one thing and I was able to feed her cereal and hotdogs and spaghetti Os. It lasted about a year. Give him gummy multivitamins that will look and taste like candy (I found that the off brand tastes better to them). You are so fortunate that your son is eating as much as he is! Mix up what you are giving him and eat with him offering a taste of what you have. Eventually, when he sees that you are not forcing him, he will come around.

is he healthy, I bet yes, is he strong and hitting his growth targets, I bet yes, so he is getting what he needs from the foods he is eating, in time introduce puree food to his mash etc. My son (now 6) is and has been fussy since like you around 2ish, he won't eat meat at all and is above adverage growth, strong as an ox and passes no excells his growth targets, so I would not worry, I just ask J to try new foods since he was three & half and retry them at a later stage. Lots of luck

Model eating the food you want him to try. For example: raw carrot sticks (also celery, broccoli flowerets) (you might want to add a dip). Dip the carrot in the dip eat it in front of him smiling, saying YUMMM!, etc. Then offer it to him. If he refuses, eat it yourself. Then go away without offering him anyhing while he waits. Try again in a minute or two. It is important to act as if you are not upset....even if you are, because then you will start a power play!

Finger foods are good at this age. Fresh fruit cut in bite sizes (strawberries cut in half or quartered). the same for pears, papayas, apples. Seedless grapes are really sweet and great and require no preparation.

BTW (By the way) why in the heck are you allowing a 2 year old to eat fast food. GOOD LORD lady!! Sheeesh!! You shouldn't even be eating it, much less turning a 2 year old onto it!! To me that is a lazy American option!!! But then that is just my opinion!!! LOL!!!

My number 4 child(son) loved everything to be multicoloured, his pants, shirt, shoes all had to contain multiple colours, so I made his food the same way, For my

other children french fries became lumber piles, carrot sticks became fence posts, broccoli became trees, califlower became little flowers when broken apart all my kids were meat lovers so I had no problem there, they loved chicken bites and pork bites the most and what my children still call "rib sticker" which is made up of minced onion,half teaspoon sized bits of broccoli,califlower,diced small red pepper, celery, sauteed white fish broken very small all mixed into some cooked rice and just before serving I throw in an stirred egg mix well and put on the plate, children love to hunt for things and if child is wearing green get them to eat everything that is green, I had lots of fun with ny kids at meal times, I use to make "mickey mouse "pancakes or press faces into bread before toasting it so they could have funny face toast.Be creative, Have fun they are only little once.Once the kids were older and they started " I don't like it" before they even tried it I would tell them they have to try everything 3 times before I would let them off the hook and then about a year later I would give them the kinds of foods that they said they didn't like and make them try everything 3 times again.

My son is a picky eater as well. He just turned 2. His list of foods are chicken nuggets, gerber diced apples (he refuses fresh diced apples) french fries, oatmeal and those fruit pouch things. When introduced to anything new, he completely freaks out. I've tried the making him eat what we are, he went 2 entire days without eating. So instead of starving him, I'm just giving him what he WILL eat. Eventually he'll grow out of it. I'm curious, did your child have RSV as an infant? I've talked with other mom's whose children had that as an infant and their children are also picky eaters?

If you can do avoid tinned food aimed at kids, they are packed with sugar and salt to hook them on and they don't develop a taste for the real thing. When I give them baked beans I dilute and drain most of the sauce with hot water (the beans are very good though).

Eat variety in front of him and let him try if he asks, enjoy good healthy food (a recommend a pass on the fries if I were you), to increase protein intake I do my mash with milk, a bit of grated cheese and a bit of margerine. Present the fruit with the yogurt maybe, to dip, I cut strawberries and put them on their plates like flowers. Will he have any soups or veg creams? cos you can add anything to that, I chuck veg and lentil and make a really thick cream, you can blend ham in. Will he have nuggets? you can make your own to avoid whatever they add in factories plus bake them to avoid to many fried up things. Get him cooking with you and shopping too (a list with the pictures of the things you need, he will love it). I had to google a pic of those tacos, if he is happy to have some meat and veg inside that just keep on adding new things to it. I think one you get him in the kitchen discovering all the things HE can do he'll give a go to other things, but definitely the example you give will be decisive. Keep on offering him whatever you cook for all of you, I know lots of people that do it and don't get angry if kids don't eat it, but if they don't want the food 'sorry, that's what I made for all of us, if you don't want it then don't', and it's working for them, eventually the kids join in (obviously they are not filling them in later with other stuff). You may want to try different approaches but don't stress too much, if your doctor says he is in a good weight and height it may be hopefully a phase. All the best.x

My 3y/o is the exact same way. I just make him taste something and then he may eat it but he loves pasta and noodles without hesitation. He also love fries but he is big on apples, grapes and popscicles!!

The general advice from our health professionals at the moment (in NZ) is it can take 10-20 (yep, 20!) presentations for a child to try a new food. It's a good idea from a biological perspective to be wary of new food - it may make you sick after all!

I put a little of the new thing on my 2yo's plate along with stuff I know he'll eat. I might tell him what it is, and it's often something we're eating as well. I don't push it, and I don't make him try it, because I firmly believe that the pressure to do so will just make him resist for longer - little kids control what they can.

I find he'll brush it aside, then eventually he might taste/lick it, and eventually he'll eat it because it's not a new weird food anymore. It takes time, and I only put a little to minimise waste, but there's no pressure on him or me and very little stress.

I don't put him in a position of missing a meal, because I don't want to be up in the night with a hungry child. But if he eats two bites of something he usually likes and walks away he doesn't get something else made either.

Lots of kids won't like things the first time around, but if there's something you want them to eat, keep introducing it (requiring just a few bites) until it becomes familiar. My 2 year old is very verbal which is helpful, and he can explain to me that it's the peelings that make him gag. Sometimes it's a texture thing like that--change up the texture to see if it helps. He and my older son (4) are both very susceptible to food that's fun. They like carrots raw because they're crunchy and like what rabbits eat. My 2 year old likes cooked carrots cut in round "wheels" because he's a bike/motorcycle/car fanatic so anything with wheels is fun. I can't always do "fun," so sometimes we have the "sorry but there's really nothing else to eat" battles, but when you can get them to want what you're serving by adding fun to the recipe, it saves some grief. :) Oh, I was a picky eater myself, and my folks always made me eat what we ate. I distinctly remember when my mom told me (with a story from her own childhood) that I could learn to like stuff I didn't like if I tried, and I believed her and I tried (I was much older than 2). It worked, and I still use this principle since I live overseas and have to learn to like new foods to this day.

When my kids were toddlers I used to make up a selection of good foods, like different veggies or fruits and let him choose what they wanted. I had some small pairs of little tupperware squeeze type tongs and that's how mine started eating veggies. It was their choice...they could dip in a sauce or salad dressing and eat what they wanted. My son to this day (grown and married with kids of his own) loves broccoli tips. At that time he called them "little trees". Whatever works,,,be creative.

Rolanda, give your son more faith on his reasoning skills, they are fantastic for his age and he understands more than you think. As a mother of 5, I NEVER let anyone "baby talk" my children right from birth, always I asked them to speak to my children in their regular voice and not to use one sylable words, if you and your husband remain on the same page about your sons eating habits just remember to stay calm about things, if he doesn't want to eat at your meal time, remember his meal time may differ for awhile from yours and your husbands, try feeding sonny a little earlier.

When I asked my Doctor the very same question 29 yrs ago he said, the two year old will never starve, feed them what they want and try to push the milk more, I personaly thought he was out of his mind but I followed his advice and he was right. If you truely want the toddler to eat something else try getting some Jello-instand pudding made with yogurt into him or just make it with milk, ask him to help make it all he has to do is stir the bowl a few times and maybe get him to lick the spoon to try it

My daughter went through a phase like that. We just kept putting in front of her what we were eating and told her if she didn't eat then she didn't get anything for dinner. I think she went to bed without dinner 3 nights in a row and the 4th night she cleaned her plate and said thank you and asked for more (she was 2.5 at the time). They will eat what you give them, because their little brains won't allow them to starve. Be firm and fair (like offering at least one thing on the plate that he likes). Don't expect a clean plate the first time with new foods either, just ask him to take a bite or two. On average it takes the palatte approx. 10 times to become used to a new flavor and texture. If you give him something 10 times and he STILL doesn't like it, don't offer it to him again for about a year, starting the 10 time cycle again.

Good luck and remember you can pretty much train picky out of a kid. If he says something like it makes his belly hurt or something then it may be that he's allergic to it, so don't try that food again for a while.

I have a just turned two year old also! Very picky, he only eats the same basic foods you listed, and chicken nuggets/grilled cheese. But not much else. I started giving him pureed veggies infants eat, yes, bought jarred infant veggies. He loves them. but wont eat whole adult vegatables. I also give him V8 juice, the splash kind with fruit and vegetables. I also buy him the pedicare shakes. At least i know he is getting what he needs, and he can still be picky with the normal foods. Its a stage, he"ll grow out of it. Good Luck!!

But one thing to think about is realistic portions....do not put too much food on his plate, it might overwhelm him and he might feel pressured, plus it's just wasteful because he will not eat it.

We used to do this at the preschool when kids resisted the lunch we served them. Most of the kids got their own plate loaded with yummy, healthy food and ate everything, and got dessert (usually fruit) Really extreme picky eaters got a small plate with 1-2 bites of each kind of food (so we're talking about 5-7 bites of food) and they had to eat everything on that plate before asking for more of the food they liked or having dessert. Even so, I had children that still refused to eat, and they were sent to sit on a naughty chair as long as they refused to eat with everyone, because the lunch table is only for children who eat.

But still, 2 year olds can be stubborn. Worst-case scenario, they didn't eat a single bite and their mother told us that when they went home a few hours later they ate lots of food. (She didn't tell us what food she gave him, but I'm suspecting it wasn't the healthy kind)

But anyway, a lot of it is just them testing their limits, and wanting to do things for themselves, like when they are nodding off half-asleep but insist they are not sleepy...a 2 year old may be able to have basic control and understanding of their bodies but they do not know what is best for themselves, you do, and they are craving your authority and for you to set the boundaries. Good luck.

Perhaps you only have learned helplessness in the face of your toddler's refusal to eat. Eating and sleeping are important areas for the toddler to become independent of you as soon as possible. All the suggestions are excellent. We set the example for our children. We have to control ourselves; what we eat, taking self-care, sleep habits. Let the child follow your personal example when it comes to personal choices having to do with his or her body and emotional response. Choose your battles in all the other areas towards creating useful self-expression. You develop your child's emotional intelligence in order to give them weight management skills later in life..

i have a two and 3 year old and my 2 year old can be picky, although it dos him no good what so ever if he dosnt eat, no dessert or snacks. he mite cry cos hes hungery but dont give in, if he was hungry he should have eat his dinner, it mite even be as quick as 2 or 3 day and he will start eating, dont make a fuss at dinner time just sit down and eat if he dos try the food say well done if he the spits it out say nothing after dinner time is finished clear the table if he dos not want to eat fine, maby he will be hungry for brekfast in the morning, but make sure you never let him win, and never let him hear you talking about his food habits unless they are good ones! i and one more thing at two year old he may not be talking alot but he understands alot more that you mite think. i hope this help and things get better.

The most important thing at this age is not to make meal times a battle ground and keep it as stress free as possible. Offer lots of choice on side plates so he gets used to seeing different types of food. I battled for years with my son who is now 11 over food. He now eats a wide variety of foods. It may be a long process but forcing the issue wont help. So long as he is growing and developing normally relax and let him eat what he likes.

dont restrict food it makes the problem worse its a meal not life or death you need to remember children have likes and dislikes just like adults i have a picky 2.5 yr old she spent the best part of 3 weeks only eating tinned spag for tea she had a meal felt fine and after a while went back to having more food. we offer fruit and yoghurt as the only options if she doesnt eat her meal and we continue to have sweets after our meal she caught on pretty fast. she also has food allergies so is very cautious about trying new foods. be aware that food allergies arent just extreme reactions my daughter gets stomach pains hrs after eating so be aware that he may not of liked the feeling he got after a food. just keep trying have a routine eat at specific times and no snacking between meals.

It takes 17 tries before a picky eater will accept a new food. Just know it takes consistency of serving up new items. Accept his initial food rejections, but stay in control of your reaction. He is learning healthy food choices from your example. Try to make your food irresistibly colorful or dip and eat without him! He will begin asking you for some when he his hungry for a regular meal. Often toddlers stop eating when they have intestinal impaction. You can always try eliminating milk if he has a running nose. Fresh fruit in a bowl or no-sugar apple sauce is a great snack he can reach for himself. Making a common eating place in the home helps him to enjoy different types of food with others.

Honestly...when he gets hungry enough he will eat. However, stressing the importance of healthy food while cresting a game about it may help him to see that its not so bad. Also, when they watch you as the example...they will eventually follow. Wish you the best. Most of the times they grow out of that too.

I agree with amanda do your best to keep your ffoot down now. With my first I was very lenient since he was my baby and now at six he fights us with most meals. Its awful on him and us. Do not give in.... Keep encouraging different foods, make then into silly shapes or let him help make lunch pick out what to go with supper... Etc. Good luck!

Yes Elfrieda no toddler will starve themselves. Its been proven over generations of humans. You must put your foot down as toddlers or this will become a bigger problem as he gets older. I have 3 children ages 14-12-3 all eat what they are given, and love it. Now that being said my middle child doesnt like tomatoes/sauce (its a real hate), so he gets our same dinner WITHOUT the tomatoes/sauce.

Just because a child isnt talking doesnt mean they dont understand english. He also has very good reasoning skills, so much so hes figured out if he complains mom will lable him a "picky eater", and get him the food he prefers. Two years old is no longer a baby, they very much think for themselves and understand their actions have reactions.

Would you do that with a toddler who just turned two? I mean to be stricter about it when he's older, but my son is only 26 months old. He's pretty much still a baby, not talking so I can't explain it to him.

Last week he was going through a really picky few days, and my husband said, "That's enough!" and he wasn't allowed any snacks or supper, he was just presented with the plate of rejected food from lunch. I backed him up, of course, but I didn't feel like it accomplished very much, just because he's so little still and his reasoning skills are not very developed yet.